Honoka'a Western Week will run May 22-31 but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event will mostly be held virtually.
Started in the 1940s as Rodeo Days, the 70-plus year festival will include family favorites including silent auction, cowboy talk story broadcast, Saloon Girls and Cowboys Got Talent live stream, and more, according to the event section of the website.
“Back in the day, the Andrade Hotel would fill up with visiting cowboys, sometimes eight or nine to a room,” Honoka‘a Western Week chair Michelle Hartman told West Hawaii Today. “Restaurants and bars were busy, and spirits were high all around. The celebration grew year after year, and today’s Honoka'a Western Week gives everybody — men, women and children — a chance to kick up their heels and release their inner paniolo, even if some of it is online this year.”
According to West Hawaii Today, the festival, before the pandemic, included celebrating the town's paniolo heritage with food, music, restaurants, storytelling and keiki activities. Despite Honoka'a Western Week being virtual, shops and other places will offer merchandise celebrating the weeklong festival.
"Throughout the month of May, visitors to Honoka‘a will see shops, restaurants and other businesses decorated paniolo style, and many establishments will offer discounts and specials to those sporting Honoka‘a Western Week T-shirts and buttons from years past," West Hawaii Today reported.
A fun series of “photo stops” designed and painted by local artists along Mamane Street invite strollers to pose for selfies or photos with their friends. The new Honoka‘a Heritage Center in the Botelho Building will highlight a special paniolo exhibit in their front windows."
A new item is the Best Dressed Western Costume, which opens Saturday. The online costume contest is open to all and can be emailed to HWWCostume@gmail.com, or post on the HonokaaWesternWeek Facebook Page and use the hashtag #HonokaaWesternWeek. Judges will hand out prizes for most creative and best overall on Monday, May 31, West Hawaii Today reported.
Another new event will be the first Invitation Saloon Girls and Cowboys Got Talent Show to be broadcast on Kahilu TV. Contestants for the talent show have already been signed up and the pre-recorded show will be Saturday at 7 p.m. Winners will receive cash prizes, an interview with Big Island Music Magazine and a chance to record their own concert.
"Other happenings include a Cowboy Talk Story and Honoka‘a Western Week Movie on Kahilu.TV (May 26 at 5 p.m.), paniolo craft kits and online instruction video by the Hamakua Youth Center, and Western Week Coloring Pages by Friends of the Honoka‘a Public Library," West Hawaii Today said.
To find a full list of activities, visit the Honoka'a Western Week Facebook page or the events page at www.honokaawesternweek.org.